San Bernardino History and Railroad Museum

Grreat museum! Trains everywhere you look! Artifacts from the 1900s sheds light on transportation’s evolution. Small space but you could find yourself spending a few HOURS in there (like I did) just roaming and reading the history of San Bernardino and its origins.

Amazing tour. The gentlemen there gave us all kinds of information and lessons about the trains. It’s bigger than I thought and they have a lot to look at! They have a small donation box to keep it running so anything you can spare would help them I’m sure of it. My little one thought it was really cool and they let her ring the large bell. Amazing everyone should check it out. They have a board right when you walk in for the events they’ll be having

Initially, I thought this exceptional museum was just a small anteroom sort of quaint house type museum. In fact, it is a HUGE COLLECTION of some very special rail-related artifacts from the bygone age of steam to the present. It is a San Bernardino 💎 gem! Harvey girls, with the very first diner served, model trains of a very wide assortment. If you like trains, history, or just a way to spend a wonderful family afternoon. Be prepared to spend around 2 to 3 hours gawking, gawping, gaping and grinnin' from ear to ear! Enjoy! Check hours. Open Saturdays.

We are very happy to have a chance to visit this small but full of railroad history museum. We are welcomed by a kind lady who introduced us a senior museum narrator. He’s a very kind person and he explained bit by bit the history and significance of almost all exhibits, even in and out of this current still-used rail station. It largely increased our knowledge on the development of railroad history in LA region and beyond. Thanks for keeping such a wonderful historical site.

Nice to see historical places

This relatively small museum gives its attendees an interesting opportunity to learn about the history of the city of San Bernardino. It is housed in the San Bernardino Train Depot now used by the Metrolink network operated by Amtrak. This train station opened in 1918 and was the biggest one west of the Mississippi at the time. Please note that this free museum is only open on Saturdays from 10:00AM to 3:00PM and has a separate entrance just to the left of main depot entrance on the Westside of the building when facing it from the street.

Loved the tour! The gentleman Kent was so friendly and informative. I enjoyed the history lesson he gave us and we will deff be coming back just to hear more stories.

The San Bernardino History and Railroad Museum located at the historic Santa Fe Depot and Metrolink Rail Station is an excellent museum of San Bernardino Rail history! This is a great museum dedicated as a historic landmark that immerses it's visitors in an educational and informative experience of the Inland Empires rail history!Great for young and old alike,family's and historians of trains,rail and transportation! They feature lots of displays,rail memorabilia,mechanical items and a great gift store! Loads of free parking,family friendly and you can drop in for a meal or snack at Stevies Snack Shop inside the historic rail depot next door. A great experience! Check for times of operation for days that the San Bernardino History and Railroad Museum is open. . . . #ilovetrains #railroad #railroadhistory #metrolink #boxcars #santafe #sanbernardinohistoryandrailroadmuseum #historicallandmark #iloverailroads #unionpacific #trains #steviessnackshop #whistlestopsnacks #photografxworldwide #sanbernardino #ontherails #history

I love this Historic little museum located right next to the actual train station! The place is kept so neat and so grateful for the staff that actually takes care of the history of San Bernardino. We went on a very hot Saturday and the A/C felt really great! And such a plus that it is a stroller friendly location. The staff that we came across were friendly and were also letting us know little tid-bits of place too. There are miniatures trains, historical pictures, and carriages, and uniforms, and so much more. I love places like this and I love that I get to bring my kids to see some pieces and glimpses of the past. We also got to see the actual train station just next door. Such a great little museum and worth checking out if you're in the area. Free parking and Free admission. They have limited hours of operations so make sure to plan ahead.

We were on a family outing to San Bernardino and stopped by this rail museum to check it out. The San Bernardino History and Railroad Museum exceeded our expectations. This largish local history museum had interesting displays on the Santa Fe Super Chief, the Harvey Girls, the Red Cars, and the citrus industry in Southern California. Also, this museum had wonderful railroad dinnerware used on the dining cars of the Santa Fe which were beautiful to behold. If you have a little guy or gal who is interested in trains, you can't beat this museum.

It's a free thing to do with your family in SB. The railroad museum is only a few rooms but they're full of memorabilia and railroad relics that are neat to see up close. I discovered a new irrational fear I wasn't aware I had-- there are some huge signal lights that creeped me out for some reason. Idk! After we saw everything, we walked out the back door by the tracks and got to see a couple trains pass by and also watched those huge railroad cranes that pick up train cars. I did not know the Metro Link stopped here!

We were not expecting much when planning on coming here this Saturday, but it was such a fun and interesting stop!! The volunteers are so friendly and helpful. We have two young kids (3&5) and they loved it! They have two motorized train sets, so me that adults can control and one that they will turn on for you. It was also neat to see the depot (very vintage and cute!) and to watch the trains passing on the platform. It is a working train station though so anyone with kids should just be extra cautious on the train platform. We will definitely be stopping by again for train watching :)

This Historic station is huge and lots to see at their museum. You can feel the past here. Just happy it is still here unlike so many place gone now. The architecture in these buildings are amazing. They have a gift shop here too. If you go up the stairs on the train platform-You can take some great pics there. Please leave a donation when visiting for the future care of this awesome place.

The San Bernardino History and Railroad Museum located at the historic Santa Fe Depot and Metrolink Rail Station is an excellent museum of San Bernardino Rail history! This is a great museum dedicated as a historic landmark that immerses it's visitors in an educational and informative experience of the Inland Empires rail history!Great for young and old alike,family's and historians of trains,rail and transportation! They lots of displays,rail memorabilia,mechanical items and a great gift store! Loads of free parking,family friendly and you can drop in for a meal.or snack at Stevies Snack Shop inside the historic rail depot next door. A great experience! Check for times of operation for days that the San Bernardino History and Railroad Museum is open. . . . #ilovetrains #railroad #railroadhistory #metrolink #boxcars #santafe #sanbernardinohistoryandrailroadmuseum #historicallandmark #iloverailroads #unionpacific #trains #steviessnackshop #whistlestopsnacks #photografxworldwide #sanbernardino #ontherails #history

Neat historical building that has been well maintained. Lots of things to look at, the people are nice and knowledgeable. They run on donations as there is no entrance fee, support them! You can get a soda and watch the trains come and go. It is wheelchair accessible. Yay.

It's a big and old Santa Fe train station with a museum in part of it. It's good for train watching because it's the terminus for the Metrolink and an intermodal container freight yard. I like this part, but it's really not part the museum. The best part of the museum is that it's free. The museum itself has no locomotives or railcars. The museum contents are rather typical except for the track switching console.

Outstanding. There are many unique railroad memorabilia and one-of-a-kind artifacts surrounded by many, many historic photographs. It's fun to just watch railroad DVDs and local history slide shows that are continuously playing. Model trains are displayed as well as being operated. It's only open Saturday from 10 am to 3 pm but there's free admission. TLM

Looking for something to do on a lazy Saturday morning... The Santa Fe Museum is a good choice. You learn fascinating facts about the SB railroad hub and other facts that surround SB historical subjects. The cost is donation only and you can purchase souvenirs.

I'm confining this review to the museum itself, and not reviewing the rest of the building or the separate Metrolink station. What's there is good if you're interested in trains, history, or the local area. If you live somewhere else, you can take a Saturday morning Metrolink train to the San Bernardino station, tour the museum, and then take a return train. My mistake was in planning a 2 1/2 layover to visit the museum. Despite touring all of the exhibits and spending time talking with one of the volunteers, I was pretty much done in an hour. That gave me an hour and a half to visit a Subway across the street, eat lunch, return to the station, read several Amtrak schedules, and wait. Although I've never seen any trouble in the area in my two visits there, this area has been identified as "sketchy" and not a place to really walk around.

It's a shame this place is only open on Saturdays, because it's a really cool place, and the docents are quite knowledgeable. As it turns out, the docents and I have mutual friends at the train museum I'm affiliated with. The quality of the collection is impeccable, so if you're going through the area on a Saturday, check it out. Even if you're not big into trains, this is a must-see for any history buff.

I have been most fortunate to have seen many of the railroad related museums in the country. As others have stated, the only open day thus far is Saturday but in the future, that will change. The docents as others have said are a mine of information and will bend over backwards to answer all your questions. The building is on Natl Register of Historic Places; she is unique in design and in very good condition from 1918. The collection of railroad memorabilia is outstanding; and each item is well displayed, lighted and dust free. As for the future, the building will house a scale railroad of the Cajon Pass; also a few pieces of rolling stock are in the plans and perhaps a train excursion from the depot. Inaddition, the museum holds a number of horse drawn fire related equipment which are probably rare and well cared for. If you have an interest in rail related history, then please visit.

My husband and I visited for the first time and enjoyed it immensely!! There was a wonderful variety of displays for us to experience! 2-1/2 flew by.

Very cool place. Staff was super friendly sat and told us stories and some history. Husband is a retired fireman now a railroader so they sat and blabbed to him. Even gave him a free shirt and our daughter a free whistle. Small but a lot of treasures in there. You could walk outside to the tracks with all the bnsf trains. Very cool to be that close. Staff made it a great visit. Make sure u check the hours because it is only open certain days I believe.